Antonio Verrio

Dining hall, at the Blue-coat hospital: a magnificent scene by Verrio, running the length of the room, is at the right.

Antonio Verrio (1639 - 1707) was an Italian painter much favoured at the court of James II, and who later painted (though not without some violation of his conscience) for his usurper King William III also. Examples of his work are to be met with in many a fine country house; less often perhaps in town houses, which are seldom adapted to their grandeur of scale.

It was a painting of Verrio's on the north wall of St. George's Hall, Windsor, which caught the eye of Jonathan Strange when he waited upon his Majesty there. It depicted both Edward III and John Uskglass as joint sovereigns of England, attended by their appropriate retinues[32]. It was not done from the life of course, as Uskglass had withdrawn from England before Verrio ever arrived on these shores.

Verrio's somewhat posturing and florid art has lost favour with the modern age - a fate very incident to painters.

More can be found about him here